Gunmen kidnap three Benue varsity students, Zaria housewives, children

Gunmen have abducted three students of the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, in Benue State, and two housewives with their children from their Zaria homes in Kaduna State.

The students were reportedly kidnapped on Sunday in the College of Engineering area of the school.

Director of Information, Protocol and Public Relations Unit, Rosemary Waku, confirmed the development on Monday but did not give the number of students abducted.

“An unconfirmed number of students of FUAM were abducted at gunpoint by unknown persons from the campus on Sunday 25th April 2021. The university has reported the incident to the police and all relevant security agencies.

“The university has not heard anything from the students or their captors since the unfortunate incident took place.”

Spokesperson for the police in the state, Catherine Anene, said the commissioner of police had ordered investigation into the incident.

The development is coming less than a week after students of Greenfield University, Kaduna, were abducted, three of who were later found dead.

Meanwhile, another set of bandits, who invaded Kofar Kuyambana Low-cost estate in the Zaria area of Kaduna, abducted two housewives and three children.

The gunmen were said to have stormed the Kuyambana community around 10pm on Sunday and attacked two houses in the area.

Five Almajiri children were said to have been hit by stray bullets during the attack.

Five out of the suspected gunmen, who invaded the communities, were also said to have been arrested.

Kaduna Police Command spokesman, ASP Mohammad Jalige, who confirmed the attack, said only two criminal suspects were arrested and the Command will issue a statement on the incident.

A source said the gunmen first invaded a Customs officer’s house and seized his wife, Maryam Bala Ibrahim, with her three children but they abandoned the children on the way and fled with the mother.

The source added the bandits attacked another house in the neighbourhood where they abducted another woman, Hulera Haruna.

It was however gathered that the police and Kaduna Vigilance groups repelled the bandits from further attacks on the community.

It was learnt it was in the crossfire with the criminals that five Almajiris from the neighborhood were hit by stray bullets.